


The Importance of Pie

by aurora_denian



Category: Heroes - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Humor, Miscommunication, Pie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-27
Updated: 2012-02-26
Packaged: 2017-10-31 19:24:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/347546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurora_denian/pseuds/aurora_denian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, they just didn't get it. A look at the bizarre, and sometimes funny catastrophe that is Syelle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Peachy

It shouldn't be inconceivable that a sociopath could love a psycho, well 'love' in a more general sense of the word. A sociopath after all cared very little for the difference between right and wrong. From this they should care even less, or perhaps be drawn to someone who disregards the concept completely to meet their own delusions of grandeur. All of this considered it really should not have surprised Peter in the least that Primetech's current resident electrokenetic would be so deeply fascinated by his wayward, newly found brother.

"Does he still like peach pie?" The question shocks Peter a bit a he looks up from his coffee towards the blond that leaned almost casually against the break room counter. For once seeming to note the confusion on his face she continued. "Gabriel. Peach used to be his favorite."

Only vaguely wondering how she could know that about someone she'd only officially met two months ago he chose to give a distracted shrug. "Why do you need to know if he likes peach pie?" His narrowed gaze seemed to be lost on her as she picked at her nails. Her scowl, however, almost made him flinch as much as the small electric shock she sent in his direction.

"Because I was thinking about baking one." she answered snidely before that dreamy smile that had been on her lips for the past few days returned. Setting aside his coffee completely he trained his gaze on her, more than a little tempted to use telepathy to figure her out.

"So what? You were going to spend your day off baking a pie only to give it to the guy who almost cut open your head?" The silence ticked by for a few seconds, making him almost think that she was mulling over exactly what he had said. Elle had never been wound particularly tight, but she was acting was acting odd even for her. When the silence continued for a few more seconds he picked up his coffee again.

"I thought it was some sort of costume to give a man something to eat to insure future sex. That's what Claire did." Spitting coffee out over the clinically white break room table he looked at her with wide eyes. "Oh, I'm late for my meeting with Angela." With out a backwards glance she jumped off the counter, the sound of his head hitting the table following her out.


	2. Let them eat cake

"Why do I work here?" Leaning back against the white wall on level three he closed his eyes tightly, running a hand over his face in frustration. His bizarre talk with Elle had only happened a few hours before, and sadly his day hadn't improved any.

"Like the Hospice program was going to take you back after you went MIA for like two years." Opening one eye he glared at her back as she glanced through the observation window as she checked off things on her clipboard.

Fighting not to role his eyes at her, he instead focused his gaze over her shoulder and towards the shape shifter in the observation room. "In my defence I blew up, was kidnaped, had my memory wiped, got dumped in Ireland, was manipulated by a 400 year old with God issues, lost my powers, had my father try to kill me, had my brother try to kill me, got my powers back, and ended up on the run for an extra seven months or so. I'd say that's a pretty good reason to go MIA." he said snidely as he picked at lint on his black shirt. She only snorted lightly, tucking a piece of dirty blond hair behind her ear.

"In the matter of three days I had my head cut open, and was shot by my mother. I still had to pass chemistry, so a crazy life is no excuse." she chastised, a small smile curving on her cherry colored lips.

He paused for a moment, his hand halfway through his lengthening hair. "Did you ever bake anyone at work any thing? Like a pie or something?"

The scribbling of her pen stopped for a few seconds before the rhythmic tapping of the cape against the clip board started. "I baked you that Italian stuff once. What was it? Oh, almond cake! That was right after you took that bullet for me in Lemma. That was over seven months ago though."

Peter ran a hand along his chin as he thought, grimacing at the stubble he found there. "You sure there was no one else?" Her hair pounced around her shoulders as she shook her head, eyes still focused ahead of her. "Huh, that's weird."

Moving towards the next cell, the occupant leering at her, she turned to face him. " What's weird?" He didn't seem to be paying attention though, instead glaring at the leering man Claire was observing.

"Hmm? Oh, something Elle said this morning." When he didn't elaborate she threw a paper clip as him, which he quickly blocked with a flick of his wrist. "It's just something really random. Weird conversation. She wanted to bake Gabriel a peach pie. Apparently she thought baked goods were the way to keep having sex because she saw you do it."

All movement from the blond stopped a moment. "I'm going to kill her!" was quickly followed by the clip board being thrown to the ground. He barely even flinched as the door slammed behind her. Sighing heavily he leaned fully against the wall, running his hands over his face. The women in his life were getting a little too weird.


	3. Sweet tooth

It had been two days since Peter's awkward encounters with both Elle and Claire, and thankfully he'd been able to avoid both like they had the plague. On the third day, as he turned the corner towards the break room, he knew his luck had run out. Gabriel, dressed in his customary black, stood arms crossed and dark gaze trained on the closed door to the break room. Peter almost opened his mouth to ask why he was standing there when a sharp blue light shone from behind the frosted glass of the door.

Turning his gaze towards the other man in the hall way he began to walk towards the door only to be stopped by a single gesture. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you." Feeling the telekinetic pull let go of his body Peter stumbled a bit before leaning against the wall opposite his brother.

After a few minutes of standing there Peter began to fidget. "You're just going to stand there?" he demanded as his eyes fixed on the other man. Gabriel didn't answer right away, his face staying fixed towards the door, eyes gleaming dangerously with light shining from within the room.

"Yes." was the simple answer that escaped his slightly curved lips. Giving Peter a sideways glance he jerked his head towards the door. "You can leave when ever you want."

Peter shifty nervously at his quirked eyebrow, and curved smirk. "My lunch is in there." he admitted a bit shyly before turning his eyes back towards the door. The bright blue sparks still illuminated the room, their intensity and frequency increasing with every second they stood there watching. "What are they fighting about any way?"

A soft chuckle drifted across the hall as Gabriel moved his gaze to Peter. "Something about baked goods and being a whore. Although that last part I'm not really sure about." For a moment the calm demeanor of Sylar slipped away as the old Gabriel came in full force. "I'm not really good at figuring out women, especially when their squaring off against each other." His admission almost made Peter smile, but it was quickly disrupted by a loud crash and the crackling sound of electricity coming from the break room. "Now that I think about it, I think Elle said something about pie right before Claire jumped on her and started to try to pull her hair out. Bit of an over kill for a sweet tooth."

Peter was tempted to tell him exactly what Elle thought pie meant, but decided against it, just in case he jumped to the conclusion that Claire and Elle had more intimate feelings for each other. With that single thought his mind traipsed down a road it hadn't gone down in close to a year, back to that cold, isolated cell at the Company. Those thoughts where quickly torn away as the door to the break room slammed open, a slightly disheveled Elle standing in the doorway, plate in hand. Straightening her shirt and lifting her head high she walked purposefully down the hall, clicking heels punctuating her steps. Stopping right in front of Gabriel she held the plate between them looking at him expectantly.

He stood there for a second before taking the plate. Grinning broadly Elle pivoted on her heels and marched down the hall towards the main offices. Looking at the plate for a moment Gabriel got a slightly goofy smile on his face. "Pie." was all he said before pushing off of the wall and heading in the same direction Elle had gone, happily munching on the sweet treat.

Weary clicking, steps drew his attention back towards the break room where Claire was just exiting. Her white dress shirt was a bit charred and her hair slightly frizzy around the edges. As she came to a stop next to him he turned his eyes back towards the direction the other two had disappeared in. "What was that all about?" Instead of answering Claire glared at him before stomping off towards her office. "What did I say?"


	4. Keylime

It had been over a week since the break room incident and Peter was more than a little bit happy to get away from Primatech for a few days, even if it was to track down matter manipulator through the Florida summer heat. What should have been a simple bag and tag, however, had taken almost a week to complete, not that Key West was an all together bad place to be especially with Claire for company. Just the same he was a bit glade to make it back home, job complete and a promised two weeks with no travel assignments.

"I just don't think it's appropriate." Claire said for the third time since they'd stepped off the plane, tossing her sun lightened hair over her shoulder as she walked through the front doors of Primatech. Glancing between her and the small paper bag he was carrying Peter simply shrugged.

"What? I mean we talked about it a few weeks ago during the Smithson case. Besides I thought it would be a nice make up gift considering that whole 'I accidently set you on fire thing'." He waved his hand absently at his own explanation, trying to ignore her glare he continued down the hall towards their offices.

"Has nothing that's been going on in this office over the past few weeks attracted your attention? It doesn't matter what you think, what matters is when we're patching you up after psycho bitch tries to claw your face off. Again." Claire replied snidely, digging through her purse for her keys.

Peter snorted slightly as he pulled his own set from his pocket. "She only did that once, and that was only after I made that comment about how maybe those psychiatrists might have been right. She was really just proving my point anyway." Claire stopped, hand mid way to the door, turning to stare at him blankly. "What?" Shaking her head she pushed open the door to her office, tossing her purse haphazardly inside before closing the door and heading down the hall towards the break room.

Dropping his keys back into his own pocket he followed behind her. Swinging open the door Claire made a beeline for the coffee pot, completely ignoring the rooms other occupants. Sighing deeply into her mug she glanced over the rim at the couple setting at the table, sending secret glances at each other while they pretended to drink their own coffee. Glaring at the steaming hot liquid in her cup she contemplated asking for a transfer, again. Angela could only deny her requests so many times before she pulled the whole 'you're a terrible grandmother' card. It had to work, eventually.

Turning her pent up anger towards Peter once again, she sincerely hoped Elle put him out of order for a while, leaving her some well needed quiet time. Glaring at the paper bag he was holding she leaned against the counter waiting for the shit to hit the fan. Gabriel, to his credit, looked confused as Peter dropped the bag onto the table and headed to get his own cup of coffee. "What's this?"

Not even glancing over his shoulder Peter replied, "Picked it up in Key West. You mentioned wanting one on the Smithson case a few weeks back." Coffee mug in hand he turned around just in time to see Gabriel pull the confection out of the bag and Elle's eyes go wide. Staring open mouthed between Peter, Gabriel, and the keylime pie that know set at the center of the table her eyes slowly narrowed.

"You jerk!" reverberated throughout the break room as the slight crackle of electricity was quickly followed by a slightly muffled shriek of pain. Coffee mug still turned upside down above Gabriel's head Elle released the small spark had been cradled in her palm before releasing the mug and stomping off out of the room. Gabriel set there for a moment longer, looking between the pie and the door Elle had just blown through, a bewildered expression on his face. As the seconds ticked by a slow look of recognition crossed his face as his eyes widened and he scrambled out of his chair and through the door.

Still leaning against the counter, mug half raised to her lips, Claire glanced at Peter out of the corner of her eye. "Told you it wasn't appropriate." Not giving his dumbfounded face another glance she walked out of the break room, hoping to enjoy her coffee in peace in her office. The strangled sound of profanity wafted towards her, making her smirk just slightly. This should be interesting.


	5. Rhubarb

The tapping of her keyboard was giving her a headache, but the Braddock report wasn't going to write itself. Stopping mid word she stared at the screen wondering if she could convince the technokenetic in networking to convince her computer to do just that. Shaking the thought aside she let out a slight sigh as she tried to force her mind to focus on the task at hand. Leafing through the file folder on the case she felt the all too familiar tingle of being watched.

"Is there some reason why you're darkening my doorstep, humming.." Claire wrinkled her nose as she lifted her hazel eyes to look at him. "Land down under?" He didn't really answer, instead continuing to hum between bites of what looked like ice cream. She grimaced at the thought of the overly sweet treat, one of many the things sugar obsessed ex-serial killer was constantly stuffing his face with. She wondered absently, as she turned back towards her computer, how he had yet to develop diabetes. Mulling it over for a second longer she supposed it was probably because of the regeneration.

When he still hadn't moved a few minutes later she looked up at him again, a single thin eyebrow quirked in question. Giving a lick to the back of his spoon he matched her look. "Elle thinks Peter's gay." Blinking at him for a moment her knee jerk reaction kicked in as she gave an involuntary bubble of laughter. Pursing her lips quickly she gave a little cough in an attempt to cover it up.

"I think you're half right." she answered as she focused on the computer, saving her files. Looking up at him again she saw the confused crease in his brow, already knowing he would be as dense as his brother. "Elle probably does think Peter is gay, but she thinks that because he gave you pie." The teasing tone in her voice seemed to be lost on him completely as he continued to stare at her, his overly thick brow wrinkled in a mix of confusion and thought. Sighing she pushed her chair back from the desk turning to stare at him fully. "You're as dense as he is if you don't get it. Come on, your sleeping with her and you still don't understand how she works?"

"I'm not sleeping with Elle." His answer came in a calm voice but even Claire could see his mind was working to connect a few over looked dots. Giving a little snort she pretended to busy herself with organizing her desk, trying to show her full disbelief at his words. A few seconds later he pushed himself away from the door frame, rubbing his stubble lined jaw.

Shaking her head, Claire snorted slightly as she began looking through her desk drawer, more to keep her hands busy than to actually find anything of importance. "Right. You're not sleeping with Elle." The condescending tone in her voice seemed to be lost on him as he continued to stare at her, head tilted to the side, and mouth turned down in a frown. Bitting back the sigh she was oh so tempted to let slip she grabbed the file folder she had only half been looking for and stood. "Well, I'd love to set here all day and watch you wade in denial, but I actually have work to do." Holding up the folder in mock triumph as marched out the door, and easy feat since he'd thankfully stepped aside, and made her way down the wall, the slamming office door punctuating her departure.

Her meeting with Harrison Colt, a recent up start in the company, about the inconsistencies of the Braddock case had proved to be more of a headache than a solution to an obvious miscommunication amongst agents. Rubbing her forehead tiredly as gave a wane smile to a passing employee before making her way back towards her office. The promotion to co-chair of division management she had received a little over eight months ago had seemed like a good thing when Angela had handed it to her, but when the reality of being the overseer of twenty agents, and most of the bag and tag activity going out of the New Jersey office it was turning out to be more trouble than the pay raise was worth. Splitting the position with Elle also was appearing to be less than she had anticipated, even when her expectations hadn't been all that high to begin with. In retrospect though, at least Claire could be grateful that Elle hasn't killed a single innocent bystander since her job now regaled her to the exciting world of a desk job.

Wearily pushing open the door to the break room she made her way purposefully towards the fridge, pulling out the espresso chocolate fudge brownies she'd strategically hidden in the crisper drawer. Slumping down a the table she tore off the lid, and took a large bit from the confection that lay within in a single motion. "Bad day?" Glaring at the poor unfortunate soul that had dared disturb her solitude she gave a vague grunting sound before turning her gaze back towards her solace. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." Still not answering she continued to munch on her brownie, waiting impatiently for him to leave. Instead the seat diagonal from her was soon filled, a pristine white cup entering her line of sight. "Wanna talk about it?"

She thought about it for a moment before saying the first thing that popped in her head. "Elle thinks you're gay." Feeling a little bit satisfied with the look on his face she turned her attention back to her brownies only to grimace. Maybe eating two of them in such close succession hadn't been the best idea after all. Clicking the lid back in place she pushed the container away. "Oh, and she may think you're sleeping with Sylar. Especially since she isn't."

The sputtering sound that greeted her words was almost music to her ears. Served him right anyway. Peter for his part seemed utterly shocked, an expression she hadn't seen since that time in Tokyo when she gave that interesting, and slightly inebriated, rendition of that Dyvinals song after Hiro's wedding. Before she could even open her mouth to say another thing, voices drifted down the hall. Curiosity peeked Claire slide out of her chair and moved quietly towards the door. Pushing it just slightly ajar she glanced down the hall towards the two figures standing at the end. While their tones weren't exactly hushed she had a hard time making out what they were saying, even if the expression of Elle's face clearly said she was still angry about what had transpired a few days before.

"What are you doing?" Shushing Peter with a wave of her arm she turned her attention back to the hall just in time to see Gabriel hand Elle a rectangular box. What ever was inside clearly made her happy as a wide grin spread across her face. Claire didn't have very long to ponder what had just happened at the two ex-killers turned to walk towards the break room. Rushing back to her chair at breakneck speed, an activity hindered greatly by her three inch heeled pumps, she let out a sigh of relief as she was seated firmly well before the door swung open.

Sauntering inside with a broad grin and a sway to her hips Elle practically chirped her hello as she sat her parcel on the counter and grabbed a cup of coffee. Glancing at the box Peter sent a questioning look toward Gabriel. "What is it?"

Grabbing up the box like it was a trophy Elle grinned as she flipped open the lid, revealing a freshly baked rhubarb pie. Lifting an eyebrow at the implication Claire turned her gaze towards Gabriel. For his part he simply shrugged an almost shy smile curling on his lips. "He said it reminded him of brains." Silence was the only answer she recieved.


	6. The Importance of Pie

He didn't get it. Not that he ever really did, his empathy sadly not extending to understand all human emotion and interaction His creased brow and frown must have been more noticeable than he thought as a sharp jab hit him between his ribs. Cradling his side he grimaced as he turned to look at the woman that stood next to him. "What?" Rolling her eyes she scowled just a bit before jerking her head towards the fellow coworkers. The couple were obviously more interested in each other then them, gazing across the break room table almost shyly as they sipped their coffee. Giving an exasperated sigh Claire shot him one last look before stomping over to the coffee pot to get her own cup. Shrugging off her odd, yet not unusual morning behavior he grabbed a cup of his own and slumped down in to a seat.

Gabriele and Elle didn't seem to notice anyway, continueing on with their sideways glances as though they were the only ones in the room. It had been two days since Gabriele had 'gifted' Elle with that box of rhubarb pie, and what ever had progressed since then had obviusly put them both in an even better mood. Taking a swig of his coffee he grimaced at the bitter taste. How could they drink this stuff? Placing the mug on the table to be forgotten he continued to stare at them.

"We had sex." broke through the still of the room. Looking at Elle blankly he blinked a few times as his brain attempted to leap to such a conclusion. Rolling her eyes she set back in her chair as she gave him a condescending glance. "You've been staring at us since you walked in. I don't have to be Parkman to know what your thinking about." Claire's almost disbelieving snort punctuated the statement as Elle went back to sipping at her drink.

"I wasn't.." Peter attempted to defend himself only to be at a loss for words. So he had been thinking it, but that wasn't any reason for her to go and blurt it out like that. He didn't care if they were sleeping together, but he'd also never been able to let curiosity go when it got a hold of him. "Why?" He found himself asking before he even realized his brain had formed the question.

Rolling her eyes Elle stood, grasping tightly to the porcelain in her hand. "He gave me pie." Without another word she flounced out of the room, stilettoes clicking as she went. Giving a dispread look to Gabriele he found his eyes attached to the retreating form of his now lover. Looking at Peter for a split second he shrugged, shacking his head slightly before hurrying after her.

Mouth agape he turned to look at Claire, who had stayed silent during the entire exchange. Leaning against the counter she sipped away at her coffee, staring evenly over the rim of her mug. With a bit of a put upon sigh she set it aside, crossing her arms as she did so. "She called me the night it happened." she answered his unasked question. Blinking at her still she rubbed her forehead. "So we're going to play it that way." Walking over to the table she took the seat opposite him, slouching low in an almost dejected manner. "Your brother and Elle are two very disturbed little puppies. That's stating the obvious but still. With that in mind it should be the surprise of no one that they should go about seemingly normal things in the weirdest way possible. Dating for instance." Waving her hand in a nonchalant manner as she went, she looked at him with a steady gaze. "Now that being said, what are the two things those two have in common?"

Peter stared at her for a minute before finding his voice. "Killing people?" He turned it into a question even though he knew there was no need to.

"That's right." she said in a condescending voice, holding up a single slender finger. "But that's only one. What's the other?" When he didn't answer she found herself sighing again. "Sweets, Peter, sweets. They are both so obsessed with every thing processed and sugary it's a wonder they don't have diabetes. Now, since killing each other, and the general public, is a no, no know, what does that leave them to impress the other with?"

"Sweets?" he asked in an almost disbelieving voice. Mulling it over for a second he shock his head. "No, Elle said she wanted to give him a pie because she saw you give me that almond cake." he pointed out, remembering back to that conversation they'd had weeks ago.

Rubbing her eyes, Claire looked up to the ceiling as though that would somehow answer all of her problems. "It's not just the treat itself better, it's the type. Your favorite dessert is almost cake, his is peach pie." He still looked at he blankly. "God damn it Peter! It's the fact that we remember stupid little things like that! Elle wasn't just giving him any old thing, she was showing that even after three years she still remembered that he liked peach pie!"

A warm sort of light over took his brown eyes as a soft sort of smile over took his lips. "I told you on the Mortier case that Mom used to make me almond cake when I was sick." Giving him a soft little smile of her own she nodded. There was a comfortable silence for a moment before he stood, holding out his hand. "What do you say we go and get a couple of brownies from the cafeteria?" Weaving her fingers with his she gave him a bright smile as she fell into step beside him.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea." Their laughter rang out through the deserted break room as the door swung shut behind them.

The End


End file.
